The Louisiana Purchase posed several significant moral dilemmas for President Thomas Jefferson, but violating his strict constructionist view of the Constitution was one of the many dilemmas faced over the Purchase from France that occurred on numerous occasions. Jefferson believed if a power couldn’t be found in the Constitution it didn’t exist and reverted to the interest of the states. According to the Constitution, there is no power granting the President to make land investments or expend funds. President Jefferson also disagreed with Alexander Hamilton’s loose interpretation of the presidential powers found in the Constitution and the creation of the National Bank. American farmers and tradesmen used the port of New Orleans to ship their
The problem with this was, originally the House had only authorized Jefferson to spend two million dollars “to secure the waterway into the Gulf of Mexico”, Congress would have to raise funds to finance the purchase (Nesmith). As I stated in the introduction there was no power granting the President to make land investments and Jefferson had a strict constructionist view of the Constitution which he followed. According to “The White House Historical Association”, Jefferson “did not believe that the president had the right to increase the national domain by a treaty of purchase” and United States would incorporate the residents of Louisiana into the Union, and they would have the same rights and privileges as other American citizens. “Jefferson wondered if he and the Congress had the power to bring into the nation whole groups of people who were outside its original limits” (http://www.whitehousehistory.org). Therefore, the moral dilemma Jefferson faced here was putting aside his strict constructionist principles of the Constitution, because the allowance for this type of transaction was not expressly listed in the Constitution. Of course a Constitutional amendment would have taken far too long and the French could have taken back the offer within that
Jefferson believed the creation of the National Bank was unconstitutional. In the article “Jefferson and the Louisiana Purchase” the author argues, “While it a National Bank was not expressly mentioned in the Constitution, Hamilton felt that the elastic clause (Art I., Sect. 8, Clause 18) gave the government the power to create such a body. Jefferson completely disagreed. He felt that all powers given to the National Government were enumerated. If they were not expressly mentioned in the Constitution then they were reserved to the states” (http://americanhistory.about.com). But under Hamilton’s National Bank, the United States had developed the financial credit necessary to receive a loan large enough for the Louisiana Purchase. With that being stated I am sure anyone can see why this would cause a problem for Jefferson if he believed the creation of the National Bank was unconstitutional. Jefferson believed that the Constitution was to be strictly interpreted and that government should act within the stated boundaries. Jefferson also favored limited government and believed that congress should be restricted to enumerated powers listed in the Constitution. The major difference between Jefferson and Hamilton concerning executive power rests with Jefferson’s faith in the body politic as represented by the
Before the acquisition of the Louisiana Territory, President Jefferson struggled with the constitutional difficulties of adding to the o...
The longer Jefferson was in office, the more the Democratic Republicans started to go against their own principles. The acquisition of the Louisiana territory, in 1803, was the most notable achievement of Jefferson's presidency, yet it showed the inconsistency between his actions and his beliefs. Jefferson realized that there was no time for strict constructionalism due to the slow process of the amendment. This purchase violated his constitutional morals and his belief in a weak central government.
If Jefferson bought the land thinking to do good, where would be the dilemma? The purchase crossed lines with his, quite strict, view of the rules of the constitution. He viewed the
The Louisiana Purchase stands as an iconic event today that nearly doubled the size of America, ultimately introducing the United States as a world power. In 1762, during the Seven Years’ War, France ceded its control of the Louisiana Territory to Spain (Britannica). However, when Napoleon Bonaparte assumed control of France in 1799, France rallied as a world power once more. Bonaparte’s interest in the Louisiana Territory spiked, and he pressured Spain’s king, Charles IV to relinquish his control of the land on October 1, 1800. This was known as the Treaty of San Ildefonso (Britannica). In view of the transfer between France and Spain, president Thomas Jefferson sent Robert R. Livingston to Paris in 1801. Jefferson became worried, because
The Louisiana purchase was a very significant event in the United States of America that changed the country we live in today. Since, “1762, Spain had owned the territory of Louisiana, between the Mississippi River and the Rocky Mountains” (Office of the Historian). This purchase led to many great things due to the French now having possession over it. Even though the French sold major land in the Louisiana Purchase, the money gained by France and the land acquired by America was a win for both sides of the deal.
result of this purchase, the U.S. population was able to expand and increase. The Federalist favored the sale of large land parcels to wealthy speculators instead of small parcel sales to farmers and contributed to the inflation of land values. Federalists were in control so they could determine anything that they wanted as far as the land goes. Thomas Jefferson was aloud to spend 10 million dollars on the Louisiana Purchase. However, he spent 15 million dollars putting the US in a 5 million dollar debt. “In a government which is founded by the people, who possess exclusively th...
The Louisiana Purchase was the most important event of President Thomas Jefferson's first Administration. In this transaction, the United States bought 827,987 square miles of land from France for about $15 million. This vast area lay between the Mississippi River and the Rocky Mountains, stretching from the Gulf of Mexico to the Canadian Border. The purchase of this land greatly increased the economic resources of the United States, and cemented the union of the Middle West and the East. Eventually all or parts of 15 states were formed out of the region. When Jefferson became president in March 1801, the Mississippi River formed the western boundary of the United States. The Florida's lay the south, and the Louisiana Territory to the west. Spain owned both these territories.
3 cents an acre. No doubt the Louisiana Purchase was good for the US. It benefited us with double the land size and not to mention for a cheap price. It gave us the advantage of controlling trading ports and the free passage on the Mississippi river. This expansion contributed to the upcoming economic growth after leaving war. But not to leave out conflicts that aroused after doing so; with people trying to carry slavery over there to help with the rural living and construction. The United States being on the heels of this great real estate venture changed the economy, politics and morals of this soon to be great nation.
(Page 242) A lot of people say that it was pretty hypocritical for Jefferson to buy the territory of Louisiana without having permission of congress and also the permission of the American people because that’s what he said he believed in. Our textbook sides with the people that blatantly states that Jefferson is a hypocrite. It talks about how “Jefferson acknowledged that the purchase was “beyond the constitution”” and then states that Jefferson was “a velvet hypocrite” (Page 244). This decision is looked at from a lot of different viewpoints. One interesting way some people look at it is that Jefferson didn’t do anything wrong at all. They back this up by saying that the Louisiana Purchase was a treaty with France and the constitution specifically gives the President full power to negotiate treaties with other countries and that’s exactly what he did. Other people say that Jefferson saw an opportunity to better the country, and being a leader and wanting the best for the United States, he quickly took advantage of the opportunity. I think the only reason that the people that did get upset about it, got upset only because they weren’t able to feel good about themselves by being a part of such a successful and big deal. I don’t think Jefferson did anything wrong by making this decision on his own because he was simply making a decision with the country’s best interest
Did Thomas Jefferson make the right deal on purchasing the Louisiana Territory in 1803? I believe Thomas Jefferson made the right choice of accepting the deal Napoleon Bonaparte offered. The Louisiana Purchase was one of the biggest and cheapest land deals in United States history. The Louisiana Purchase involved two countries, the United States and France, and a big bill for the newly formed United States. Thomas Jefferson doing his best to follow the constitution would soon find it difficult to do so. When Spain gave the Louisiana territory back to France, Jefferson was hit with a dilemma. Thomas Jefferson was caught between his ideas and reality, and with the Pinckney Treaty now void, Jefferson had to find a way to get access to the Mississippi
Going hand in hand with his detestation of large, extremely controlling national governments, Jefferson was intent on having no national bank present in the US, but Hamilton was certain the country would benefit from one. For example, in a personal letter written by Alexander Hamilton, he wrote, “Mr. Madison, co-operating with Mr. Jefferson, is at the head of a faction, decidedly hostile to me, and my administration; and actuated by views... subversive of the principals of good government, and dangerous to the Union... Mr. Jefferson... [displays] his dislike of... funding [the] debt.” (Doc 2) Hamilton implied that by not advocating a national bank, Jefferson did not want to help the country pay off its debt. Jefferson, however, was dead set against having a national bank because he wanted the common people, such as the farmers, to have maximum influence on the government. This way, a strong central government could not have supreme political, economic, and social power, all of which together would open the doors for future corruption, even if the government was set up in the manner directed in the Constitution. Jefferson defended this judgement to the extent that he formed a political party so it could develop into a well-supported suggestion. Thus, the perspective on national banks could more efficiently progress into the point where it impacted the whole country and prevented the formation of a national bank. Equally, the excise tax proposed by Alexander Hamilton and carried out by Congress, factored in on Hamilton and Jefferson’s feud on having a national bank. In a letter written by Thomas Jefferson, he manifested his reaction to the excise tax by commenting, “The excise tax is an infernal one... [the public’s]
Though initially his decision was criticized, Thomas Jefferson 's pursuit of the Louisiana Purchase doubled the size of the United States, as well as impacted the economy, religion, and race of the nation.
In 1803 the United States would make the largest and possibly most controversial land purchases in American history, the Louisiana Purchase. During the years leading up to this event the United States was still trying to solidify a national identity. There were two subjects that were causing for division of the new national identity, one being westward expansion. The Northern states and Federalists opposed the idea of westward expansion while the Southern States and the Jeffersonians backed this purchase. Although there was a struggle for a single national identity and this controversial purchase did not aid in finding that single identity, it was still the right decision for the United States. By purchasing this land from the French the United States would not share a colonial boundary with the French who were continuing to gain power under Napoleon. Purchasing the Louisiana Territory would prove to be beneficial for the United States for more reason than one.
President Jefferson was instrumental in the Louisiana Purchase, which secured an area extending from Canada to the Gulf and the Mississippi to the Rockies, for fifteen million dollars. This purchase also led to the planning and organization of the Lewis and Clark expedition. However, the argument over whether or not Florida was included in the Louisiana Purchase caused many sarcastic attacks on Thomas Jefferson from members of congress.
When Jefferson was offered the Louisiana Territory by Napoleon, he was in a bind. He'd already had his eyes on it and wanted it badly, but there was nothing in the Constitution that said the president had that authority...and he was a strict guy!